Maree Johnston

"Blessed be this union with the gifts of the East. Communication of the heart, mind, and body. Fresh beginnings with the rising of each Sun."

My husband and I wanted nothing short of the perfect person to officiate our intimate elopement ceremony. We spoke with several other individuals in our search for that “perfect person” and couldn’t settle on anyone we felt comfortable with... until we found Maree. We knew instantly that she was the one! We traveled from out of state to get married at Garden of the Gods, and Maree was there to help us thru every step of the way. She took the time to get to know us without adding any additional stress on us (and in fact took many stressors off of our hands). The customized ceremony she put together for us was perfect! It was almost as if she had known us for years! My kids absolutely adored her and my husband and I (along with our few friends that attended) were in awe of how great of a job she did. Maree is one of the most compassionate and receptive individuals I’ve ever met and she exudes a positively beautiful energy that is felt by everyone around her! We couldn’t be happier with the decision we made to involve Maree in our very special day. Having her by our side truly made it that much more special and we will be forever grateful for her! Aside from marrying my husband, choosing Maree was perhaps one of the best decisions I’ve ever made - I highly recommend her to anyone!

"You’ve declared your legal status in the state of Texas, and today you renew your promises in the embrace of the Rocky Mountains."

"Amazing experience from start to finish! From our first phone call, she was nothing short of spectacular!! We were coming from Texas and eloping in the Estes Park area. Maree was able to help us with some ideas for locations we were already tossing around. I absolutely love Colorado and the mountains. I knew I wanted those for our big day! We settled on Rocky Mountain National Park. We settled on where to meet in Estes. Maree pick us and our photographer up and was our tour guide through the park. She was even so sweet to decorate her van for us! ❤️ We picked THE perfect person to marry us. She has a genuine heart full of love. I am so glad we found Maree to perform our ceremony!!"

"Let’s blow a kiss to your loved ones in California... (blow kisses to the west) and know that we continue with their blessings."

"We were thrilled with Maree! It was the best decision we made. We both agree that the wedding could not have been one bit better, and that Maree made the whole event our best day ever! Maree was not only easy to work with, but loads of fun too. Our unity ritual included the painting, which was such a fantastic addition to the ceremony. We both feel we didn't just hire someone to marry us, but rather we have a new friend. Absolutely Awesome!!"

"Your loving home includes one other… your sweet doggo… Remy – if you’ll join us back at the front… Tiara and Tom would like to make vows to you as well!"

"WE LOVE MAREE!!!!!!! We had SO MUCH FUN with her as our officiant!! She is passionate, loving, understanding, hilarious, adorable, creative, and totally outside-the-box- she's exactly everything my husband and I were looking for. We'd really like to adopt her but I'm sure her family would miss her. She has so much knowledge about weddings of all kinds and she's able to use this expertise to really craft special ceremonies and memories for couples. We are so fortunate to have met her. Everyone kept talking about how incredible she was! She will FOREVER be remembered as an amazing part of our day and I'm so glad she united our love. We love you!!"

"Guests – each of you will assist us in the handfasting today. You’ll each be wrapping one chord, and with it wishing our couple all of the blessings implied by each color." (15 ribbons of different colors and meanings)

"I adore Maree... she is a bright shining light that brings all her love to your ceremony. She was very patient and kind with our requests. I highly recommend her services."

"All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players... Today you will step across the threshold together and commit to your biggest supporting roles yet, husband and wife."

"Maree is excellent.  We fell in love with her while attending our cousin's wedding in Colorado.  We were so impressed with how she conducted the ceremony that we asked her if we could hire her to come to the Boston area to officiate our wedding in Vermont.  Maree is so detailed and personal.  She knows how to run an event, and she's open to doing as much or as little as you ask.  She also seems to know hundreds of ceremony rituals, and is an expert at custom designing a ceremony.  Unlike many officiants, she doesn't hint or recommend any sort of her own style.  She is well-rounded, open minded, and inclusive.  She really helped us come up with the ceremony that worked for us.  We were very pleased with her services from start to finish.  We especially appreciated that she treated everyone around us with professionalism while also being personal and kind.  She excelled at dealing with venue staff, connecting with family members, and being socially engaged in the social events of our weekend.  A special bonus is that she works well under pressure.  Our outdoor ceremony threatened rain & lightning.  It was an uncomfortable start for all of us and Maree was burdened with the task of trying to get through important parts of the ceremony, while moving it along quickly and getting us out of the impending rain.  Suddenly, this big script she had worked so hard on needed to be blasted through for the comfort and security of our guests.  She handled the task of moving quickly through the ceremony with grace and ease.  She made it all feel like it was meant to be.  It was a tough job for her and we were so thrilled that we chose her.  We can highly recommend her to any couple."

"In 2009 you guys were interviewed and quoted by the Quad City Times, saying marriage isn’t always the answer. And it’s not... but sometimes it is."

"You can see that Maree is passionate about what she does and is truly honored to share in your day. With thoughtful planning and care, Maree put together a ceremony that was so personalized and special to us. Our families and friends had no idea what to expect and many said afterward that it was hands-down, the best ceremony they had ever been to. Maree helped make our day very special and one I will never forget. I wholeheartedly and enthusiastically recommend Maree. Thank you, Maree!"

"Just like art, relationships require creativity if they are to be genuine and meaningful."

"Maree has perfected the craft of unique wedding ceremonies! She custom made ours not only to fit us as a couple but also our unique venue (an art museum). Her awesome ceremony was the talk of the night by our friends and family, they just loved her and we did too! I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a fun and alternative officiant!!! I want to be friends with her even after it's all over! Thanks Maree you are simply amazing and made our ceremony absolute perfection!!!"

"It is my privilege as a minister, and my greatest joy as a Ravenclaw - to pronounce you married!"

"Maree was perfect! She drove 3-4 hours to our ceremony location on the mountainside. Very detail-oriented and professional! I had spoken to her a few times- but my husband had not- we all immediately clicked upon meeting right before the ceremony! Maree has a great sense of humor and is very creative! We couldn't have picked a better officiant. I highly recommend her!"

"Dearly Beloved, and distinguished guests, the damned and the cursed, The holy and the blessed… Welcome!"

"Our wedding was Halloween '17 in Estes Park, Co and let me tell you, our ceremony was beyond perfect all thanks to Maree. She did such an amazing job writing us a completely custom ceremony and every guest that attended was blown away! Having a Halloween wedding you can imagine how some of our older guests (grandparents) felt. Even they loved it. My grandmother, whom I thought would have walked out as soon as she heard "monsters" surprisingly loved the ceremony and even asked for a copy of the reading for her to frame. I WAS SHOCKED. I feel like that just goes to prove how beautifully Maree wrote our ceremony. My only complaint would be that I didn't get a videographer to capture our unique ceremony (wasn't in the budget). I do feel like I will just have to use that as an excuse to "renew" our vows and hire Maree all over again. She was utterly amazing and our ceremony was absolutely perfect. We could not have picked anyone better."

"Theirs is a happy home. They have agreed on two things - never to discuss grown-up stuff before 9am, and to end all arguments with laughter. It’s working out great so far."

"Maree is absolutely amazing! Multiple friends and family members have reached out to my husband and I since our September 30th wedding to tell us how wonderful she was and we both could not agree more. Our ceremony was so touching and personal and perfect. She really knew how to capture our love story to share with our family and friends and made us feel extra special with her attention to details. She is truly incredible!"

"Dave sent me an EQUATION to explain his luck in finding Kendra. It was complicated. It involved probablility through time and space (of course), but also the planes of the multiverse. So here it is in a nutshell… he feels incredibly lucky."

"My wedding was the most important day of my life, and planning it was one of the most stressful things I've experienced. I wanted more than anything for my bride to have the day she wanted and deserved. Maree helped make that happen. She added joy to an already joyous day! The ceremony she created for us was soul-deep and will be remembered our entire lives. Many people who attended our wedding approached us and told us how wonderful our officiate was, and how our ceremony touched them. Maree has a wonderful sense of humor and fantastic personal style. Coupled with her skills as a writer, orator and organizer, we feel privileged she could be a part of our day. During rehearsal, she was able to wrangle and direct my monkey troop of groomsmen. On the day of the wedding when things were about to go wrong (something always does) she problem solved on the fly and swooped in to save our day. I cannot speak highly enough of Maree. Simply put, she will make sure your ceremony is beautiful, fun, memorable, unique, and exactly as YOU want it to be. My bride deserved the best, and she got it. Thanks Maree!"

"These are your Unbreakable Vows." (First time for my Harry Potter ceremony. It's become an all-time fave!)

"Where do I begin to explain how amazing Maree is? I searched high and low to find someone not shoving religion down your throats, but someone who would listen to us, as we are a young tattooed couple and pretty non traditional. I found Maree's website and knew instantly she would be the one when I saw she was into nerd stuff just like me; Harry Potter, lord of the rings, etc. Upon first meeting with her instant connections were formed. She makes you feel in control in the creative process and actually listens to you, not to mention she is sweet and funny! Maree created a one of a kind Harry Potter handfasting ceremony that was simply perfect. I couldn't have imagined our wedding without her it's hard to not become friends with her at the end of things because she is just amazing. If I could get married multiple times I would choose Maree over and over again."

"As Benjamin Franklin said, “Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy!” So let’s pour a beer and toast to your love!"

"Maree is a wonderful person. From our very first phone conversation, I knew she was "the one" who would marry us. She was thoughtful in writing our ceremony and made sure she had everything exactly how we wanted it. She was even available last minute when we decided to have a rehearsal - after originally not planning to have one. Everyone was so comfortable around Maree - I felt like I had known her for much longer than a few days. Our ceremony was beautiful, and I treasure all of the careful details of our ceremony. I am so happy our photographer thought to take some pictures of Maree with our guests and our kids. I literally said - as we drove away from our ceremony - that I'd really miss hanging out with Maree. You will absolutely not be sorry for choosing her - and you will definitely want to keep hanging out with her. She is an amazing person."

"Do you, Brooke, vow to keep Tiffany as your favorite person — to laugh with her, be proud of her, and find new reasons to love her every day?"

"Maree was so amazing. We couldn't have found a better officiant than her. Not only does she have a great personality, but she understood everything we wanted and made it simple. We would highly recommend her to everyone. Especially if you are wanting someone who is super helpful and has a great personality."

"Michelle and Eric bonded over Bit-O-Honey candies. Like Bit-O-Honey, their love is sweet and persistent. The candy gift that keeps on giving..."

"Maree was amazing! She was recommended by another officiant who did not have my date available, and I am glad it worked out that way. Maree is very caring, professional and helps put you at ease, it's like you have been friends forever. My husband and I wanted something personal, humorous and non-traditional and she knocked it out of the park. Her process is very efficient and results in a ceremony more personal than you will get from anyone else. I highly recommend Maree!"